AbeBooks book blog

The 35 Worst Children in Literature

In the real world, we love kids. They’re one of the absolute best parts of life, and arguably, our purpose. They represent the future. And most children are lovely. Children can be innocent, inquisitive and the embodiment of hope. In the real world, that is.

…but those characteristics make for boring stories. Authors need a little more to hook a reader, and sometimes, that ends up in some very dark material. We’ve collected a list of the most malevolent and despicable children from the pages of fiction. From murderers, cheats, and swindlers, all the way to the demonically possessed, we bring you the worst children in literature.